Bob Hilliard finalists for Trial Lawyer award

CORPUS CHRISTI - Corpus Christi attorney Bob Hilliard and Minnesota-based attorney Brent Schafer are among the finalists for the 2011 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award, which is presented by the Public Justice Foundation, a national organization of public interest attorneys and advocates based in Washington, D.C.

The attorneys worked to free Koua Fong Lee, a Minnesota man who was wrongfully convicted in a fatal Toyota crash.

Lee, who spent three years in prison, was driving a 1996 Toyota Camry when it crashed into the back of another car in St. Paul in 2006. Three people were killed and Lee was sentenced to eight years in prison for criminal vehicular homicide.

A judge last August granted Lee a new trial and he was freed after the prosecution announced they would not appeal or retry him. The two attorneys had used new evidence including testimony from other Camry drivers who said they too had experienced sudden unintended acceleration.

The winner of the award will be announced at the July 12 Public Justice Foundation Annual Gala and Awards Dinner in New York.